A New Role for Our Glorious NHS?
Eight years ago, James Adams was a male nurse working with ‘vulnerable adults’.
Something occurred in his workplace, we are not told what, which resulted in him uttering a ‘swear word’ directed at one of his vulnerable patients. Did he/she kick him in the shins? Or was it just everyday frustration, the 2004 equivalent of a heat wave that made him resort to foul language? We will never know. Was this complaint a serious incident, or a fine example of political correctness in the NHS – ‘he said ‘fu*k in earshot of a vulnerable person’?
Around the same time, he ‘asked a work colleague to buy him items of a sexual nature’. A pack of Durex for the week-end, or a full rubber Gimp suit? Was it a joke or a genuine request? We will never know.
What we do know is that those two utterances, taken together, were enough to see this expensively trained nurse cast out of the Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust for gross misconduct.
We also know that James didn’t take these events as seriously as he should have done. ‘A pox on Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust’ he may well have cried, ‘I shall take my services elsewhere’.
So, for the past 4 years he has been quietly working, without complaint, dealing with the local alcoholics for the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. A thankless task, one might imagine.
Then last June, he was pictured in the In-house magazine ‘Insight’ because he had won a new job as Mental Health nurse attached to the street Triage team. The picture was seen by Jackie Dyson, a NHS manager.
‘How wonderful’ she said, ‘an experienced nurse willing to work on the sharp end of mental health, they are so hard to find’. ‘Good Lord’ she said, ‘That is the man who once swore at a vulnerable person, can’t be having that’. She instigated an investigation, and it was discovered that James hadn’t disclosed his dismissal for swearing and/or asking a workmate to buy him some Durex/a Gimp suit.
Today, James is in prison, for Fraud. £89,460 worth of fraud. No, he hadn’t stolen the money from a ‘vulnerable person’ – that was the total of the wages he had received since starting work for Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust. A job he wouldn’t have been given had he disclosed his earlier dismissal. Ipso, it was Fraud. ‘Send that man down for ten months’.
So the NHS is now minus one experienced nurse, the Alcoholics who live on the streets of Tees, Esk and Wear are safe from hearing any words beginning with ‘F’ or ‘B’, the laws relating to not lying on your application form have been upheld, and there is a round £22,000 a year on offer for an experienced nurse willing to work with alcoholics living rough. Slightly less than MacDonalds pay, but there you go.
It has set me thinking though – if the NHS was allowed to run politics, and the Houses of Parliament in particular, instead of politics running the NHS, how wonderful it would be.
Imagine Eric Joyce plaintively calling for another double whiskey, for hours and hours on end – and then on finally getting one, it is put on a high shelf out of his reach?
David Cameron jailed for ten months for having lied on his ‘application form’ manifesto.
Dennis Skinner on the Liverpool Care Pathway?
Ed Balls ‘accidentally aborted’ (and lessons learned, naturally).
The whole lot of them, dismissed summarily, for making ‘inappropriate suggestions’ to a voter.
This thought is going to keep me happy for the entire day. Feel free to add your suggestions for ‘politics run by the NHS’.
July 22, 2013 at 08:12
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On the strength of your account of the matter it is a little difficult to
see that Jackie Dyson adds much to the lives of others.
As to fraud of
£89,000 odd? Well that really is strange –James Adams appears to have given
value (consideration in lawyer speak) for the £89,000 odd by his services—he
was presumably qualified and carried out the work he was employed to do —that
there may have been deception —criminal deception —–is quite possible (even
likely and appears to have been found) but unless I am mistaken that does not
amount to a fraud of £89,000 odd.
I am a little nervous Anna that for once
(unusually for you) that you haven’t reached an opinion without having
adequate facts —–and a custodial sentence indicates that there might be rather
more to the matter than you presently are aware of.
- July 22, 2013 at 09:04
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If James Adams has given value for his £89,000 received over several
years, might I draw the relevant authorities’ attention to one Anthony
Charles Lynton Blair, one Gordon Brown, one Ed Balls, one Harriet Harman,
one David Cameron (foir starters) who have all received a far greater sum –
each year – for several years and have given bugger all value and whose
presence in public life has been totally detrimental.
Can we expect their arrest & incarceration soon?
- July 22, 2013 at 10:07
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@ I am a little nervous Anna that for once (unusually for you) that you
haven’t reached an opinion without having adequate facts —–and a custodial
sentence indicates that there might be rather more to the matter than you
presently are aware of. @
I rather think she may have stumbled over yet another rotten fish in the
UK barrel. This type of litigation seems to be unique to the NHS and seems
to stem back to a new Fraud Act of 2006. Google it and you’ll find lots of
references. I was reading of one woman who told massive porkies on her
application – things that could have easily be checked if the NHS management
were doing any sort of job at all. Anyhow, she was found out by private
investigators who seem to be employed by the NHS to this end. She was deemed
guilty of just £9,000 “faud” and got six months (suspended). Whatever this
2006 Act has done, it seems to be criminalising something that should only
ever be a civil matter, and people getting fired is quite sufficient
punishment anyway.
- July 22, 2013 at 10:42
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July 22, 2013 at 13:18
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Yep, getting fired is obviously sufficient punishment. After all, it’s
not as if the culprits will just go off and get a job somewhere else under
different names……..
I love the way it’s always da Management who are to blame, this time
for not carrying out invasive enough background checks on every applicant.
The cases linked to on here show elaborate deceptions using false
documents which would be quite hard to spot, and I don’t know if James
used similar ploys. How did he get round enhanced CRB checks? Am I missing
the link to his case?
- July 23, 2013 at 07:17
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@ Am I missing the link to his case? @
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10560918.Fired_male_nurse_jailed_after_fraudulently_earning___90_000_from_the_NHS/
“The
court heard he went on to apply for another job in 2008 and lied on the
application form. On applying for a job as community alcohol nurse with
the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust he said he had never
been dismissed from previous employment for a disciplinary matter. Adams
went on to win the job and became a “respected” member of the team. In
November 2009, he then applied for a similar but different post within
the same trust and again told the same lie on the application form –
again winning the post. He continued to work until his lies unravelled
last year when he applied and won – again with the assistance of lies –
a job with the street triage team with the same trust working as a
mental health nurse. Mr Kemp said: “On June 12th last year Jackie Dyson,
a manager, saw the foundation trusts’s newsletter, which is called
Insight.
“She saw a picture of the triage team’s members and
recognised Mr Adams”
He worked for four years with “vulnerable people”, getting promotions
as he went. The more you find out about it, the less justifiable
labelling him a “criminal”.
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July 22, 2013 at 07:59
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I reckon that the communitarian/common purpose/communist aspect of our
government run “services” is the most dangerous to the traditional liberties
that made this country a safe haven… Ironic really, Karl Marx (along with many
others) found security here and produced the most lethal weapon the world has
ever seen.
Christopher Booker has been rabbiting on and on about the weird manner in
which parents, from all sorts of places and with all sorts of backgrounds are
having their children removed, and farmed out for adoption/fostering. It
seemed unbelievable at first, but the figures are rising ever upward, and
whilst one might expect some sort of enquiry into what is happening, there is
instead a total closing shop of the establishment bodies… The judiciary, all
of the politicians, the EU, the NHS and the social services, all gang up on
the hapless mum or mum and dad, who suddenly find a wall of silence as to why
they find their children being removed.
Then I realised when a few months back that an experienced foster family
suddenly had all their children removed, after a neighbour informed the
authorities that shame upon shame, this couple were UKIP voters. The purpose
of this activity is that there should no longer be any thought or utterance,
that does not comply with the permitted line, and anyone who is different
(which is why many of these parents are African, or from Slovakia etc.) will
not be tolerated.
Communism was not defeated, it just wormed its way into the rotten heart of
the establishment and it is thriving… So much so, that Karl Marx would be in a
great deal of trouble for publishing the sort of stuff that he wrote in the
1800′s.
- July 21, 2013 at 21:55
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I can’t see why you can’t see it.
His was a crime against the paperwork;
the worst sort of crime in the future as well as the present.
- July 21, 2013 at 18:10
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The NHS gives the impression of being the last enclave of Stalin and
Beria.
If ever any organisation exemplified Pournelle’s Iron Law, the NHS is
it!
- July 21, 2013 at 17:10
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It’s one thing to dismiss they guy for a serious omission on his CV, but
quite another to claim back his earnings for the entire period – unless there
is some suggestion that the care delivered was worse than that routinely
delivered and overlooked at Mid Stafford or Winterbourne View.
And I suppose I can count on the fingers of one ear the number of people
dismissed for hosing £12bn up the wall on crap IT spending ?
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July 21, 2013 at 14:37
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How things change. I remember around 1980 a friend of mine was working
overseas in B*****a when he was caught by the local police buying marijuana in
an area of disrepute. Fired from his hospital job after a few months, he
returned to London, represented himself as having taken a “gap year”, got an
NHS job, and within a year had received a promotion into management. I don’t
think he will be retired yet, so there may still be time to nail him and
confiscate his pension. Unfortunately I have forgotten his name.
- July 21, 2013 at 14:24
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“…if the NHS was allowed to run politics…”
Given it’s current level of performance, I’m not sure the NHS should be
allowed to run a whelk stall. However, a few union-supported back-benchers
confined to bed and given the same level of care suffered by some of the
patients of Mid Staffs hospital might concentrate a few minds. Our elected
representatives won’t improve public services on our behalf by burying their
heads in their Union-provided buckets of sand and pretending that everything
in the NHS is wonderful.
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July 21, 2013 at 13:03
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National Health Food might help MPs to decide on a career change.
- July 21, 2013 at 18:08
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No, they’d just send out – and claim the cost on expenses…
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July 21, 2013 at 12:40
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I didn’t know it is a Criminal Offence to lie on a CV. And I bet a lot of
other, now very worried people didn’t either.
What a shocking waste of
time, money, expertise and prison resources.
- July 21, 2013 at 20:56
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@ I didn’t know it is a Criminal Offence to lie on a CV @
The “crimes” seem to be being referred to as “Obtaining money by Fraud”
rather than telling porkies on your CV…. It’s a bit of a punt but can the
NHS perhaps reclaim the salary monies they paid this guy from some other
Government compo scheme? Pay people to work for you for years and years,
then get them locked up and get your money back. Genius……..
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July 22, 2013 at 10:48
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‘Obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception’ Section 16. Theft Act
1968. The pecuniary advantage being the salary and the deception being the
failure to disclose matters which he would have known to be relevant for
consideration by those considering his appointment.
Without knowing the full facts of the original dismissal it is
impossible to judge whether this prosecution was proportionate. One would
like to think that when it came to light his employers did look at this in
detail before involving the Police. I’m sure that the C.P.S. would also
have pondered whether a prosecution was justified by both the strength of
the evidence and ‘public interest’ considerations.
Two sides to every story and all that………..
- July 22, 2013 at 12:52
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He might have been fired from his previous job, but presumably his
license to practice as a nurse was still intact.
- July 21, 2013 at 11:11
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Speaking of new ‘roles’, I see that Cameron likes the idea of blacklisting
certain words from web searches as a means of tackling online child porn. Emm,
I wonder what shape this initiative will take ? This article talk about users
being redirected to quasi self help pages – administered by a charity ‘Stop it
Now’. Blimey, we’ll dine out forever on this one, ‘Stop It Now’ or you will
……. Behaviour modificationists (is there such a word ?), eat your hearts out
…..
Seriously though, the consequences for googling by mistake are really quite
alarming – you could lose your job and possibly EVERYTHING ELSE !!!
http://news.sky.com/story/1118505/child-porn-web-searches-must-be-blocked
- July 21, 2013 at 09:41
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And if he were working in Private Healthcare & his past discovered,
what then ? Nothing I bet. No pragmatism in the Public sector, unless of
course you are at the top of the S.F.O. Then you can dole out millions to your
henchmen our of the public purse with alacrity.
- July 21,
2013 at 09:01
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Not a great deal of sympathy for the sacking – he knowingly lied. He
deserves the sack.
But criminal fraud charges? Isn’t that a little unusual?
- July 21, 2013 at 09:03
- July 21, 2013 at 10:04
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There are lots of cases of immigrant staff being jailed for “fraud” by
working for the NHS, it seems.
http://www.ifsecglobal.com/document.asp?doc_id=552692
Ike
Agukwe Johnson, 42, of Kingsland Road, Plaistow has been sentenced at
Blackfriars Crown Court to 12 months’ imprisonment after being investigated
by the NHS Counter Fraud Service. Johnson cost the Trust £179,142.32 in
salary payments, bank work earnings and other costs….. The Trust first
employed him as a care worker at the Stacey Street Nursing Home in Islington
after he tendered a false Home Office ‘No Time Limit’ stamp in his Nigerian
passport in 2003.
The NHS Counter Fraud Service seems to have been set up to stop NHS staff
casually fiddling their time-sheets and suchlike.. Now it seems to have
become an arm of the Security State. There appear to be rumblings that
because most of the “illegal immigrant” cases involve people of colour then
the NHS-CFS is a racist organisation. I would guess James is a valuable
statistic for them to disprove such a claim.
Just off the top of my head, the treatment of James appears more facist
than racist. It’s utterly appalling to jail a person for doing their best to
get a job and being successful. The fact that the place where he worked
failed to do any background checks (or perhaps were happy to turn a blind
eye) is their problem not his. I think actual criminals are allowed not to
tell of their past, after five years or so. Whatever happened to the notion
of people learning their lessons and getting a fresh start?
- July 23, 2013 at 06:02
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XX The fact that the place where he worked failed to do any background
checks (or perhaps were happy to turn a blind eye)XX
Interesting point.
I have just recently achieved the qualification to be a … Hmmm
“Denenzkrank Begleiter”….. a sort of nurse/socialworker who deals mainly
with alzheimer patients.
So far, so good.
BUT, I applied for a job in the place where I did my “Praktikum”….
(Intern??? where you work for so long without pay, and it is part of the
training…)
The boss. “Hmm… we don’t need “Demenz Begleiter”, but we need care
workers (Used to be called “Nurses” But hayho), you can start
tomorow.”
Me. “I need the training course, which is 100 hours in school, followed
by another “Praktikum””.
Boss “Oh we can turn a blind eye to that, just do it anyway.”
Needless to say, he could not see me for dust as I left the office.
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July 21, 2013 at 20:40
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I recall at a national mental health conference decades ago an NHS
manager came ‘out’ publicly for the first time about his inpatient
experience in a psychiatric setting, something he had concealed to his
employers. He knew this would lead to him being viewed him rather
differently for having such a history, i.e. his capabilities might be
questioned..
I am not aware he was ever sacked for ‘not disclosing’ on his application
his mental health history (in the NHS you have medical examinations before
being accepted for employment, as well as enhanced CRB checks).
I think it is todays ‘politics’ that seem to be the problem, especially
since 60% have been reported from research to have lied about their
qualifications / experience to get a job. Getting the sack in a job may call
into question who gave the job references?
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